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CS92PROD
Home Movies: Italian Families on Film
ITAL 242
Fall 2016 not offered

What is "the family" in Italy's contemporary social and cultural context? How has it changed over time? How has it responded to the transformations of Italian society since the time of the postwar economic miracle until today? Have its contours changed to adapt to new values? Has it fossilized existing values? Are families limited to flesh-and-blood kinship, or are they constructed along lines of shared values and loyalty? This course seeks some answers to these questions through a sustained exploration of a variety of types of families as they are presented in Italian cinema from roughly 1960 until today. We will take stock of the "traditional" family and the traditional social values connected to it, seeking to understand how filmmakers, through their focus on the family, enter into the debate concerning tradition and change within the social context. In addition to conventional families, we will also examine the elective family that takes shape as the Mafia family. Finally, we will also explore some examples of contemporary families that challenge the traditional paradigm, for example, single-parent and same-sex families. After discussion of critical readings in sociology and anthropology that will help frame our examination throughout the semester, we will concentrate on film texts. This course is conducted through the medium of Italian.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: ITAL221 OR ITAL222
Fulfills a Requirement for: (ITST)(RMST)

Last Updated on NOV-14-2024
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